Sole-waxing machine



y 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND 1,757,449

SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Fil ed Dec. 9. 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jkvarzfa? y 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND 1,757,449

SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9. 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 722/6733? a Mad 7 5 7 M ay 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9. 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet May 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9, 1925 a Sheets-Sheet 4 May 6, 1930.

w. A. COPELAND SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9, 1925 a Sheets-Sheet 5 I May 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND- SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet May 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet May 6, 1930. w. A. COPELAND SOLE WAXING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 9, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM A. COPELAND, 011 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL SHOE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE SOLE-WAXING MACHINE Application filed December 9, 1925, Serial No. 74,377.

This invention relates to mechanism for picking up a liquid from a container and spreading it on a surface which it is desired to coat, a preferred specific embodiment of the invention comprising apparatus for applying melted wax to the soles of shoes.

Her'etofore it has been difficult to apply to shoe soles a thorough, even coating of wax. Hand methods are slow, and mechanical devices for applying the wax have heretofore been unsatisfactory. By my invention, a coating of wax is quickly and thoroughly applied and is at the same time worked into the surface of the leather to some extent. Re-

volving brushes and bufiers are also supplied for pi'itting a finish on the waxed sole.

Further advantageous features and combinations will be found in the drawings, in

which 0 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same. Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view in the opposite direction, on line 4- 1 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragment showing the mechanism for transferring wax from the container to the applicator, part of the figure being a section taken on line 5 5 of. Figure 2.

Figurefi is an end elevation of a portion of the machine, with part broken away to show means for rotating the wax-feeding wheel.

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the applicator.

Figure 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figures 9, 10 and 11 are different views of one of the applicator fingers.

Figure 12 indicates applicator fingers engaging different parts of a shoe sole.

Figure 13'shows the disposition of heating units in a frame member which in the assembled machine is located below the applicator fingers.

Figure 14 is a section on the line 14-14 of Figure 2.

Figure 15 is a section on the line 15-15 of FigureQ.

Renewed November 8, 1929.

Figure 16 shows a modified form of the applicator and its operating mechanism.

Figure 17 is an end view of the mechanism sL-hownz in Figure 16 as indicated by the line Figure 18 is a section on the line 1818 of Figure 16.

Figure 19 is a section on the line 19-19 of Figure 16.

Figure 20 is a section 011 the line 2020 of Figure 17.

Figure 21 is a section on the line 2121 of Figure 16 except for the applicator fingers, which are not indicated in section.

Figures 22, 23 and 2 1 are views of an applicator finger such as is used in the modified form of the apparatus shown in Figure 16.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 indicates a container for melted wax or any desired fluid, suitable heating units being provided at 11, (Figure 5). The liquid in the container is preferably raised therefrom in a film adhering to the rim of a wheel 12, which, as shown, may be provided with shallow recesses or notches 13 which serve to increase the amount of the liquid lifted per revolution as the wheel is rotated. The wheel may be rotated by any suitable means. As shown, a ratchet 141 and pawl 15 are provided, the ratchet being fixed to a shaft 12 on which the wheel is also mounted, while the pawl is secured to a disk 15 loosely mounted on the shaft 12 and oscillated by a link 16 which is eccentrically connected to a rotating member 17 mounted on one of the operating shafts of the machine. As will be seen from the construction indicated in Figure 6, the connection between the rod 16 and the member 17 is adjustable to vary the throw of the pawl 15, and hence to regulate the speed at which the wheel 12 turns. The liquid container and the wheel mechanism are supported by a housing. indicated generally at 18, which contains the applicator or device for transferring liquid from the wheel 12 to the work to be coated. The housing memher 18 comprises a dome-shaped casing 19in which is journaled a substantially vertical shaft 20 extending down through the top of the housing. Attached to the shaft 20 is the applicator, which comprises a center plate 21, to which are secured a plurality of fingers 22 by radially extending leaf springs 23. The applicator may be supported in a horizontal plane or tilted to any convenient angle, as indicated in Figure 4. The fingers 22 are positioned to contact with the wheel 12 and remove liquid therefrom, as the applicator is rotated on its shaft 20. Secured to the dome-shaped portion 19 of the housing 18 is a member 24 of general U-shape, as shown in Figure 13. This fixed member is pro vided with suitable heating units 25 which my be used to keep the moving applicator properly heated. Also mounted on the upper surface of the member 24 is a wiper 1211 of felt or other suitable material, which on gages successively the work-engaging faces of the applicator fingers 22 as they come from contact with the wheel 12, and serves to spread the liquid evenly over the faces as well as to remove any excess which may have been picked up by the fingers. A recess 90 is provided in the housing 18 which affords an opening in which articles to be operated upon may be held against the fingers of the applicator. The shaft 20 on which the applicator is mounted carries at its upper end a beveled gear 26 which meshes with a beveled pinion 2'7 mounted on the shaft 28, which shaft is also connected to the member 17, which actuates the pawl 15 for t 1e rotation of the wheel 12. A friction coupling 29 is provided between the shaft 28 and the member 17 to avoid injury to the mechanism in case the wheel 12 or any of the parts rotating it should stick or jam. The shaft 28 is journaled in suitable bearings 30, 31, preferably formed on the housing 18, and is driven from a shaft 32 through the pinion 33 and the gear 34 meshing therewith. As shown in Figure 4,

the housing 18, together with the mechanism supported thereby, may be tilted to suit the convenience of the operator by a bolt and slot connection 35, 36.

Before describing the mechanism for driving the apparatus, I will describe more in detail a preferred form of the fingers 22 of the applicator, which receive melted wax or other liquid from the wheel 12 and apply it to the shoe sole or other article to be coated. As shown in Figures 8 to '11, each finger has an elongated worl-z-engaging face '37, roughly in the shape of a parallelogram. This face is preferably not plane, but slopes away froin a high point near the middle toward the opposite diagonal points. The pitch of the slope across the smaller dimension ofthe face is slightly sharper than that along the longer dimension. The slopes combine to give a slight convexity to the face as a whole. The upper portion of thefingerwhich carries the face 37 is supported inany suitable way. As shown, a base portion 38 is connected with the upperportion by upright portions 39 and 40, all these portions being preferably integral with one another. A recess 41 is provided in the base portion, into which fits the spring 23, by which the finger is attached to the center piece 21. By fitting the spring 23 tightly into the recess or slot 41 and securing it therein, the finger 22 is held again wobbling on its support. In the assembled applicator the fingers 22 are preferably arranged so as to be tangent at their high points to a common plane which'is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the applicator. The action of the fingers 22 upon the shoe sole serves not only to coat the sole with wax, but also, by'a pounding and rubbing effect that the successive fingers exert on the sole to work the wax to some extent into the surface portion of the sole. The pounding effect is obtained by the action of the slight bulge or convexity on the work-engaging faces of the fingers 22. As the applicator rotates, the fingers successively meet a shoe sole with glancing impacts which, with the rubbing of the fingers on the sole, compacts and smooths the surface of the sole in the process of applying the Wax. Thus the soles receive a simultaneous rubbing and pounding as the wax is applied.

The mechanism for driving the applicator is supported, together with the applicator, on

a suitable standard 42, the applicator and its housing being attached to the standard by any suitable bracket, such as 43. The driving mechanism is carried by another bracket and housing, indicated as'44, in which are ournaled an end of the shaft 32 and another shaft 45. In order to facilitate the independent removalof the applicator mechanism or the drive mechanism, the shaft 32 which operatively connects't-he two may have a separate section 32 within the housing 44, the abutting ends of the shaft 32 and its section 32 being slotted so as to interlock for driving engagement. The shaft 45 carries for convenient use suitable buffer wheels or revolving brushes 46. .47, 48, for polishing and finishing the coated sole or other object.

As may be readily seen from the drawing, the gearing is so arranged that the buffer wheels or brushes may revolve at high speed while the applicator is revolving at a comparatively low speed. The shaft 32 is driven from the shaft 45 as by sprockets 49 and 50, mounted respectively on the shaft section 32 and the shaft 45, and achain 51 connecting the sprockets. On the shaft 45 is also mounted a spiral gear52 which meshes with spiral gear 53 disposed at right angles to it, the gear 53 being fixed to a shaft 54 which carries a driving pulley 55 and an idle pulley 56. A belt shifter 57 is mounted to throw a belt, not shown, from the active pulley 55 to the idle pulley 56, or vice versa, being slidably supported in the housing 58, which encloses the power transmitting mechanism. A handle 59 is conveniently located by which the operator may shift the power belt from one pulley to the other. The shaft 4:5 may be provided with a suitable ball bearmg 60 to take the thrust of the spiral gears 52 and 53.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figures 16 to 24. In this form, two applicators 61, 62 are used. The applicator 61 may be constructed of a solid piece of metal into the periphery of which suitable slots are cut and the edges rounded ofi, but preferably this applicator may be constructed of individual fingers 63 supported as by leaf springs 64: to a hub member 65 mounted on a shaft 66, as shown in Figure 20. The shaft 66 may be journaled in a pair of brackets such as 36 31. This applicator is of particular value 1n applying wax to the shanks of shoes and working up into the corner made by the heel with the shank. The applicator 62 is of general cylindrical shape and is specially adapted for coating the flatter portion of the shoe sole. This applicator comprises fingers 67 supported on the shaft 66, as by leaf springs 68,

- in two series, the points of the fingers meshing, as shown in Figure 16. The springs 68 permit a slight yielding inwardly of the fingers 67 as work is pressed against them. The tendency toward outward motion of the fingers 67 induced by the centrifugal force due to their rotation about the shaft 66 is llmited by the collars 69 against which the ends of the springs 68 engage. The fingers 67 are shaped somewhat similarly to the fingers 22 in that the work-engaging surface 70 is slightly convex, as indicated in Figure 23.

The applicators 61. 62 are provided with liquid containers 71, 72, from which a film of liquid is lifted, as by the rims of wheels 73, 74, 75, which are operated as by suitable ratchets 76, 77, and pawls reciprocated through rods 78, 79. The rod 78 is actuated by an adjustable eccentric connection with a wheel 86 mounted on the shaft 66. A friction connection 89 is provided to allow the wheel 86 to slip on the shaft 66 in case the wax-feeding wheel 73 is stuck or jammed by hardened wax, or otherwise. The rod 79 is actuated by an adjustable eccentric connection with a wheel 87 carried on an auxiliary shaft 88 which is driven from the shaft 66 through sprockets 81, 82 and a connecting chain 83. A friction member 91 is provided for the shaft 88 to allow slippage in case the wax-feeding wheels 74:, 75 should jam. A wiping device is provided to engage the faces 70 of the fingers 67 after they have received liquid from the Wheels 7 1, 75, so as to spread the liquid evenly over the faces 70 and to remove any excess liquid which may have been picked up. A similar wiper is preferably supplied to spread the liquid over the faces of the fingers 63. Suitable heating units 84 may be supplied for heating the applicators 61, 62, and other heating units, such as 85, maybe supplied as desired for the liquid containers 71, 72. The heating units 84 are preferably set into the upper portions of the stationary brackets 30, 31, from which the heat is carried to the moving applicators 61, 62.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the embodiments described and shown herein, but is subject to any modifications and changes which may fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a liquid container, means for lifting liquid from said container, resiliently mounted members with rigid faces successively contacting with said lifting means to receive liquid therefrom, and means for spreading said received liquid over a portion of each member, said portions being adapted to apply said liquid to the surface of work held thereagainst.

2. In a device of the class described, a con tainer for heat-liquificd material, means for heating said container, a disk positioned in the container for partial immersion of its rim in the liquified material, means for turning said disk, a slip connection between said disk and said turning means adjustable to slip when resistance of the disk to turning exceeds a predetermined value, and means for applying said liquid to the surface of work held thereagainst, said applying means being positioned so as to contact with the disk and to take liquid therefrom.

3. In a device of the class described, a liquid container, means for heating said container, means for feeding liquid from said container, means for transferring said liquid and applying it to the surface of work held there against, said transferring means comprising a plurality of members mounted for yielding contact with said feeding means, common means for driving said feeding means and said applying means, and means for varying the speed ratio between the feeding means and the applying means.

In a device of the class described, a liquid container, means for heatingsaid container,

means for lifting a film of liquid from the container comprising a disk positioned for partial immersion in the liquid, and means for rotating the disk; and means for transferring the liquid from the disk and applying it to the surface of work held thereagainst. said transferring and applyingmeans comprising a plurality of fingers disposed in circular series for yielding contact with said disk to receive liquid therefrom, a center plate supporting said fingers, means forspreading over the operating surfaces of said fingers the liquid received from said disk, and'means for rotating said center plate in its plane with the fingers supported thereon.

5. In a device of the class described, a liquid container, means for heating said container, means for feeding a film of liquid from said container, means for transferring liquid from said feed means and applying it to'Work held thereagainst, a casing partly enclosing said transferring means, and means independent of said feeding means, shielded and carried by said casing for directly heating saicl transferring means.

6. In a device of the class described, a liquid container, means for feeding liquid from said container, and means for, receiving liquid from said feeding means and applying it to Work held thereagainst, said receiving and applying means comprising a plurality of elements having slightly convex Work-engaging faces tangent to a common plane and movable in a circular path While tangent to said plane.

7. As an article of manufacture, a rotatable member, and fingers resiliently mounted thereon having smooth, slightly convex Wax-applying faces disposed in circular series, said faces being tangent to a common plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said member.

8. An article of manufacture comprising a center plate, a plurality of metal spring members extending radially therefrom and detachably secured thereto, and Work-engaging fingers secured at the outer ends of the spring members having slightly convex Workengaging faces presenting a substantially annular surface and individually tangent to a plane parallel to that of the center plate.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a plurality of fingers having slightly convex metal Work-engaging faces of substantial area, a member supporting said fingers with said faces tangent to a common plane, and means for rotating said support to move said faces about an axis perpendicular to said plane.

10. An article of manufacture comprising a rotatable member, a plurality of metal spring members extending radially from said member, and Work-engaging fingers carried by said spring members, said fingers having smooth metallic slightly convex Workengaging faces arranged tangent to a common plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a rotatable center plate, a plurality of spring members extending radially therefrom, and work-engaging fingers of comparatively heavy metal'secured to the ends of said spring members, each finger having an elongated slightly convex Work-engaging face disposed in a plane perpendicular to 'the axis of rotation of the plate, the longer dimension of said face making an oblique angle with the corresponding spring member.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

WILLIAM A COPELAND, 

